Hindus exhort all Ohio schools to start the day with yoga like Newark elementary

Hindus have commended Ben Franklin Elementary School (BFES) of Newark City Schools (NCS) in Ohio for reportedly launching the school day with yoga, calling it a step in the positive direction.

Pupils at BFES reportedly undertake yoga every morning, which it is claimed, prepared them for their time in school, changed their attitude and readied them for the day.

Distinguished Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada today, applauded BFES for coming forward and providing an opportunity to students to avail the multiple benefits yoga offered.

Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, urged all public, private, charter and independent schools of Ohio to adopt yoga as part of their daily routine so that students did not miss a learning opportunity in this competitive world.

Rajan Zed also urged Ohio Governor John R. Kasich, Ohio State Board of Education President Tess Elshoff and Ohio Superintendent of Public Instruction Paolo DeMaria; to work towards formally introducing yoga as a part of curriculum in all the public schools of the state, thus incorporating highly beneficial yoga in the lives of Ohio’s students.

Yoga, referred as “a living fossil”, was a mental and physical discipline, for everybody to share and benefit from, whose traces went back to around 2,000 BCE to Indus Valley civilization, Zed pointed out.

Rajan Zed further said that yoga, although introduced and nourished by Hinduism, was a world heritage and liberation powerhouse to be utilized by all. According to Patanjali who codified it in Yoga Sutra, yoga was a methodical effort to attain perfection, through the control of the different elements of human nature, physical and psychical.

According to US National Institutes of Health, yoga may help one to feel more relaxed, be more flexible, improve posture, breathe deeply, and get rid of stress. According to a “2016 Yoga in America Study”, about 37 million Americans (which included many celebrities) now practice yoga; and yoga is strongly correlated with having a positive self image. Yoga was the repository of something basic in the human soul and psyche, Zed added.

The NCS, whose tagline is “Committed to Excellence. One Student at a Time”, serves approximately 6,200 students. Tim Carr is the Board President, while Doug Ute is the Superintendent. Its Ben Franklin Elementary, whose school-sponsored programs included art and walking club, celebrated Valentine’s Day Party in the classrooms on February 14. Dena Cable-Miller is Principal.